"Using technology as an artist is about sharing, it's about
helping each other as artists" , "a lot of places and magazines
require the artists to pay for being published, which I don't
agree with at all".

So, I've decided to do something about it by creating a special section in the
V.W.L seasonal magazine, dedicated to talented, passionate
and committed artists that I have met in real life or on the internet. It's a space
where selected artists can freely introduce and/or express themselves, for free. If
you'd like to feature here, please contact

info@vwlart.com.
7

V.W.L Summer 2013

Kobina
Wright
(US)

“I can’t really say how I became an artist. It feels more like an evolution, because although I’ve been
painting since I was fourteen, it wasn’t until last year that I actually felt like I was one.
It was planning my solo show, “Kobiphysics: An Art Show” where I showed paintings inspired by
modern and ancient physicists and invited my supporters and outside art enthusiasts to the
Huntington Beach library for the exhibit. In the preparation of the show I began to feel worth of
slipping on the title in my own mind, though I had been telling others I was one for years.
My art has been exhibited at the Sang Dee gallery in Chiang Mai, Thailand; at Liverdun Chateau
Corbin and at the Amsterdam Outsider Art Gallery. The online gallery that exhibits my work is
American Fine Art (www.AmericanFineArt.org).
In 2013 my art and literary works have been published in: The Bicycle Review; Boxcar Poetry
Review; Burning Word Literary Journal; Crack the Spine; The Fiction Week Literary Review; The
Missing Slate; Orion headless; The Passionate Transitory; Subliminal Interiors and Wilderness
House Literary Review.
The Wrighter (www.TheWrighterOnline.com) was once primarily a blog that reported hard news and
commentated on American culture. Occasionally I’d repost investment advice from finance gurus
and samples of my own art and poetry. However, after Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” sold at
auction for $120 million, I began inviting other artists to tell my readers about themselves and weigh
in on the results of the auction. From there, the artist features just blossomed and have taken on a
new life.
I’m actually ecstatic that V.W.L. Magazine was created and that it showcases both Valerie Won Lee’s
work and international artists. I’m both an artist and a writer and I actively pursue publication of
both expressions, so you know I receive A LOT of rejection. Artists and writers need places where
they feel invited and welcomed. A reprieve from criticism and denial. I guess we call it The
Community.”
Kobina Wright

8

“Elaine”
By
Kobina
Wright

9

V.W.L Summer 2013

MAMMATHAS FUND by Peter Caton
(UK)

“Last year, I felt compelled to visit and document the horrific
pesticide poisoning situation that was happening in north Kerala.
The pesticide Endosulfan used for Kerala’s government cashew
plantations had been indiscriminately aerial sprayed for over a
decade.
Unforgivably, the government aerial sprayed without informing
locals to cover their water wells or stay indoors during spraying.
The result of this neglect has created a legacy of mass pesticidal
poisoning.
Although now banned in the state and nationwide on a temporary
basis, the poisoning has been passed down generations creating
mental and physical illnesses throughout the districts.
One young victim we met named Mammatha has a tumor around
her eye that covers half her face.
She lives at the bottom of a valley, on higher ground, barrels of
endosulfan were illegally and shamefully buried when the state ban
came into place.
The mishandling resulted in the pesticide contaminating the
communities living down the valley.
Mammatha was one of the many poisoned. Although Mammatha’s
right eye cannot be seen due to the enormity of the growth, she
fortunately has a fully functioning eye hidden beneath the tumor.
Unable to marry or leave the house because of shame and
embarrassment, Mammatha feels her life is already over.
Although her tumour has now reached her brain. I plan to raise
money so that she can pass her days in relative comfort.”
Peter Caton